Thomas Oscar Dickey Jr.
April 28, 1922 - December 13, 2012
Dr. Thomas O. Dickey Jr., 90, of Glen Dale, WV, died December 13, 2012 at the Hubbard Hospice House, Charleston, WV.
Born and raised in Woodsfield, Ohio, he was the son of the late Thomas O. Dickey, Sr. and Clara E. Dickey.
He was preceded in death by his wife of sixty years, Mary Angela Dickey in December 2011.
He was an avid student and at 17 was the valedictorian of the Woodsfield High School class of 1939. He then attended the Ohio State University in an accelerated six year program, receiving a BA in 1943, and his MD in 1945.
During medical school he enrolled in the Army scholarship program, and after a rotating internship at University Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, he served as a Captain at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Downey, Illinois, from 1946-1948. He then completed a year of OB-GYN residency at Akron General Hospital, followed by a year of General Practice Residency at Wheeling Hospital. He opened a solo private practice in Family Medicine in McMechen in 1950. He was a complete family doctor, serving his patients' needs in his office, performing minor surgeries and assisting surgeons on major operations of his patients, making house calls, delivering well over 1000 babies, and was the team physician for Union High School's football team. In 1965 he became a staff physician in the emergency department of the Ohio Valley General Hospital and in 1971, became the Director of the Emergency Department. In 1972 he became the Director of Emergency Services for Wheeling Hospital, a position he held until 1988 when he became Medical Director of the Marshall County Health Department. He retired after over 50 years in medicine in 1996.
He was certified by the American Board of Family Practice in 1971, and recertified in 1977. He was also certified by the American Board of Emergency Medicine in 1983. He was an Advanced Life Support, and an Advanced Trauma Life Support instructor. He had a number of appointments in his service to the community, including ten years on the Board of Directors of the Northern WV Emergency Medical Services Agency, Editor of the WV Chapter of ACEP newsletter from 1985-88, President of the Marshall County Medical Society from 1991-1995, and many years on the Board of Directors of the Bank of McMechen and then the Marshall County Advisory Committee of Wesbanco. He was a clinical associate professor of the WVU School of Medicine. He loved teaching nurses, externs, EMTs, residents, and 4th year medical students who did emergency medicine rotations. He was a life fellow of the American College of Emergency Medicine and the American Academy of Family Practice, a member of the Schwinn Study Club, AMA, West Virginia State Medical Association, and WV Public Health Association.
In 1985 the city of McMechen honored him for his years of service by naming the new community building after him.
He was a faithful member of the Hillview Church of Christ in Moundsville, and a strong supporter of the WV School of Preaching. He was a member of the Moundsville Lions Club, serving one term as president, and was a Melvin Jones Fellow.
Surviving him are his three children, Dr. T.O. Dickey III (Susan), of South Charleston, Sue Bailes of North Carolina, and David A. Dickey of Virginia, sister, Mrs. Doris Reese of Columbus, Ohio, eight grandchildren, one great grandson, and five nieces and nephews.
Friends received 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. Monday at the Altmeyer Funeral Home, 214 Marshall St., McMechen, WV. Funeral services will be conducted at the Hillview Terrace Church of Christ on Tuesday, December 18, 2012 at 11:00 a.m. with Evangelist D. Gene West officiating. Entombment will follow in Halcyon Hills Memorial Park, Sherrard, WV.
The family would like to thank all of the physicians, nurses, nurses' aides, physical therapists and others who cared for Dr. Dickey during his last year of life. Particular thanks to the Welty Home, Wheeling Hospital, Heartland Nursing Home, CAMC Memorial, and Hubbard Hospice House.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Parkinson Research Foundation, the American Cancer Society, Hubbard Hospice House, and the West Virginia School of Preaching.
Thomas was a member of the marching band in 1940 and 1941. He played trombone.
